Student's internship paves way to future mode of travel

For the last four years, senior Sara Brennan has been part of a team developing the Segway Human Transporter (HT). Its scooter-like design may look simple, but it incorporates advanced technology, some of which has been in development for over 10 years.\nWeighing in at 80 pounds, this self-balancing, electric-powered device was founded by renowned inventor Dean Kamen, chairman and CEO of Segway LLC. Before Segway became its own corporation, research and development was taking place at DEKA Research and Development Corporation, also founded by Kamen.\nBrennan first became involved with Kamen's inventions in 1998 when she worked on product testing for the Independence 3000 IBOT, a device developed at DEKA, to help those with physical disabilities maneuver stairs or uneven terrain.\nSara's mother, Linda, had just obtained a job at DEKA, so Sara was able to get a job there as well. Currently, Linda is an executive assistant for the vice president of product development at Segway LLC. \nAs a marketing major, Sara was more interested in working on projects that dealt specifically with her field. During the following two summers as well as winter breaks, Sara worked on the Segway HT. Initially, she did a great deal of the market evaluation, determining specific target audiences. She was also the leader of the user manual project.\nSara said her classes and experiences at IU have directly aided her in the work she has done on this project. \n"The first summer I was there was right after I-Core, so everything that I was learning in I-Core was exactly what I was doing at work," she said.\nTobe Cohen, director of marketing at Segway, said he believes the Segway HT could have a huge impact on college campuses as well as around the world. \n"At its essence, a college campus is a great microcosm for us," he said. "You have a bunch of people who live, work and entertain in a couple mile radius." \nThere are many options available to students to get to classes and around town, "but none of them offer the kind of freedom the Segway does," Brennan said. \nThe transporter can travel at a top speed of 12.5 mph (20 kph), and has an optimal range of 17 miles per battery charge. It releases zero emissions into the atmosphere. It's clean, quiet and can be used in various climates.\n Becoming involved in a startup project such as this one can be very exciting Brennan said. But it does sometimes entail taking risks. Brennan said advice from professors has encouraged her in her work with Segway LLC. \n "They said that if there's any time that it's OK to fall on your butt, it's when you're 21 years old and you don't have a mortgage," she said. \n Brennan said she would advise other students to work in startups after graduation.\n"If you get the opportunity, give (a start-up) a shot right after you graduate," Brennan said. "If it doesn't work out, you always have time in your life to do the responsible thing."\nLinda, a Purdue graduate, said Sara has always been one to try new things and take chances.\nWhen Sara was in sixth grade she landed the lead role in the school musical. Her mother did not find out until she was invited to the show and saw her daughter on stage.\n"I didn't even know she could sing. Here she was on stage with probably 150 people (watching), and she didn't look like she was nervous at all," Linda said. "I have no idea where she got that." \nEver since she first started working on the project, Sara was optimistic about its possibilities. She said she had great expectations for the Segway HT. \n"I was excited, but I wasn't surprised at all that it got the press that it did," she said.\nWhen her mother learned Sara was going to IU, she was shocked. \n"We had to tease her because we are Boilermakers," Linda said. "We said that she was our rebel."\nThe national reputation of IU's Kelley School of Business helped Sara in making her decision. She was encouraged to come to IU by her brother, Mark, when he took her on a campus tour while he was a graduate student at IU.\nWith children currently living in Indiana and Colorado, Sara's mother said for Sara to return to the Northeast would be her "fondest desire."\nSara said she has made realizations about herself and her future during the time she has spent at Segway. \n"In determining what company I want to go to after I graduate, I've decided that one of the key deciding factors is whether I fit in with the culture of the company," she said. "I really do at Segway"